


Ka Wā Hoʻokahi Puka e Pani (When One Door Closes)

by MythicRhyvon



Series: Ka Momi O Home (The Journey Home) [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NCIS
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Getting Back Together, M/M, Tony DiNozzo Leaves NCIS Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 11:19:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11103504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythicRhyvon/pseuds/MythicRhyvon
Summary: Tony has made the decision to accept the promotion and move to Hawaii. There’s a lot involved in making such a big change, and the boys realize it’s not all going to be smooth sailing. Takes place directly after Ka Momi O Home (The Journey Home). *Sequel now posted*





	Ka Wā Hoʻokahi Puka e Pani (When One Door Closes)

Ka Wā Hoʻokahi Puka e Pani (When One Door Closes)

                Three days after accepting the posting at Pearl Harbor, his phone ringing woke him in the middle of the night. He’d turned it back on both in case Five-0 needed to contact about the investigation, but also for ease of contact with Steve.  He answered it without looking at the screen or even opening his eyes.

                “’Nozzo.” He murmured, face still pressed against his pillow.

                “Hey, it’s me. Sorry to wake you.” Steve’s voice was quiet, though Tony could hear the commotion of a bag being packed in the background.

                “No problem. What’s up?” He asked, forcing his eyes open and sitting up on the edge of the bed.

                “I know we had plans today, and I know it’s my last day to convince you to stay, but we’ve gotten called out to Maui for a case. It sounds like it’s going to be pretty bad and I’m not sure when we’re gonna be back.”

                “Okay.” Tony replied simply. And to him it was that simple. He knew the job, knew how important the work they did was and knew how consuming it could be when it came to having a personal life. He couldn’t begrudge the man for doing his job, no matter how many plans they had to cancel. He was sure when he went back to work the same thing would happen because of him sooner or later, and he knew Steve would be just as understanding. It was one of the really great perks that he could see coming from Steve’s career change.

                “You’re not upset? I was gonna try and swing by and see you on my way to the airport, but there isn’t time.”

                “Of course I’m not upset. I’ll be here when you get back.” He promised.

                “Yeah?”

                “Yeah. Don’t worry about me, go save the day.” He joked, rubbing his eyes.

                “Alright.” He murmured softly. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

                “Kay. See you soon.”

                “See you soon.” Steve repeated before they hung up.

                Tony dropped heavily back to the bed, phone falling to rest beside him. Still, he didn’t fall back asleep, but rather started thinking about what he’d do with the day instead. He should start looking at properties on the island, and the sooner the better so that he could stop paying for the pricy hotel room. He should probably also call back to DC and start getting things set up for the move.

                He glanced over at the clock to see it was 4:30, so it would be 10:30 back in DC. He picked his phone back up off the bed and reached over to switch on the light. He hit speed dial 6 and raised it to rest against his ear. The phone rang long enough he thought it was going to voicemail

                The phone clicked, but instead of the recording he heard “Palmer.”

                “Jimmy, hey! It’s Tony. Do you have a minute?”

                “Uhh, one second please.” The man replied. Tony heard him moving through what must have been autopsy and into his little office.

                “It’s good to hear from you.” The other man stated after the sound of the door shutting reached him. “You left quite the mess behind.”

                “Yeah, sorry about that. Just had to get away, you know?”

                “I don’t blame you there. So what’s up?”

                “I uh, got a promotion. I’m going to leading the MCRT here in Hawaii. I’m not starting for another month, but I want to start getting things moved over here.”

“Congratulations!” The younger man exclaimed, real happiness in his voice for Tony. “That’s fantastic!”

                “Yeah, it is.” He said, smiling at the ceiling. “But I have a huge favor to ask you.”

                “Name it.” He replied without hesitation.

                “I’m spending today house hunting. I’m planning to fly back in about two weeks to get things packed up and shipped over, so that everything is settled before I start working. You still have a spare key to my place?”

                “Sure do.”

                “Do you think you and Breena could head over there and start packing up the stuff in the living room and kitchen? I own the place outright, and figured I’d just rent it out as a furnished apartment. It’s cheaper to buy new furniture here than to have mine shipped out. But I was hoping you guys could get the movies and things packed up and then take some pictures so I can list it? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ll take you out to dinner when I’m back! Anywhere you want.” He wheedled, hopeful.

                “Well, I’d have done it without the bribe, but I’ll take you up on it anyway!”

                “Ah, you’re the best, Jimmy. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

                “Yeah, yeah.” The man joked. “You don’t have to keep buttering me up, I already said yes.”

                They talked for a couple more minutes before they hung up. Tony was relieved to know the friendship he’d built with autopsy gremlin still held true, despite his disappearing act. Having the living room and kitchen done before he arrive would be a huge help. He honestly didn’t want to spend any more time there than he had to, and was hoping a weekend trip would suffice. All’s he’d have to do would be to pack up his bedroom and the bathroom, and then arrange for the movers to take over.

                The piano would be a pain, but he wouldn’t leave it behind. He’d also have to arrange for his car to be shipped over, and he’d need to have his money transferred to a bank on the island. With so much to do, he headed to the shower to start his day early.

                He killed as much time in his room as he could before headed down to the hotel restaurant for a light breakfast and then onword to a local real estate office to start his house hunt once they were open. There wasn’t much availability, he found out quickly, and properties bought and sold quickly once they were on the market. He had pretty substantial savings, and his Paddington Trust Fund from his Mother to fall back on if nothing else, so he wasn’t worried about the deposit. The price tags still made him cringe a bit, but that was the expected price to pay for a piece of paradise, he supposed.

                The agent, a woman named Carla, did not waste any time and had him out looking at properties within the hour. They looked at six different homes before he found one he liked. It wasn’t on the water, but had a great view of it, and a deck that ran all the way around the house. It was only one story, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It had a large kitchen, a small dining room and a nice sided living room. It also had a great outdoor space, with a large fire pit built into the yard and plenty of room if he decided to get a dog.

                Its price tag was in the $400,000 range, and the $80,000 check he wrote for the deposit was a little painful, but he knew the jump in pay would allow him to build the account back up. And who knew, if things with he and Steve continued to go as well as they were, he might end up moving in with the man eventually anyway and could sell for a profit or possibly rent it out as he was planning to do with his apartment. In addition, making the full deposit secured the home from other buyers, and would also make it so his payments were less than $1500 a month. All in all, he was pleased with the purchase.

                The paperwork took most of the afternoon, and he felt pretty drained by the time he headed back to his hotel. He’d start shopping for new furniture the next day and could hopefully start moving in that weekend (it being Wednesday).

                Part of him wanted to call Steve and tell him about it right away, but he didn’t want to throw him off when he was working a case. He still hadn’t told him he’d accepted the job offer and knew he’d need to soon, before he got much deeper in the move. Instead, he went for a run along the beach at sunset and then settle in with more room service and a movie.

                Steve was still in Maui the next day, so Tony spent the day shopping, and arranged for all the furniture he purchased to be delivered on Friday. They’d talked briefly that morning, but Steve had sounded strained and the call was short.

                Friday found Tony at the new house as the sun was rising, ready to greet the movers and to spend the day assembling furniture. His bed arrived first and was sent to the master bedroom. His new leather sofa and loveseat were next, followed by the entertainment center, dining room set and patio set to go around the fire pit.

                When six o’clock came around he headed back to the hotel to retrieve his belongings and check out of the room. It was odd to return to the house, odd to think of having a house of his own on the island. When he’d been younger, he’d always stayed at the McGarrett house or at a hotel. It was definitely a new experience, but he was looking forward to having his own space again, rather than living out of a hotel.

                He was just getting ready to stop for a pizza when his phone rang. “Hey, you.” He said happily when he answered it.

                “Hey, yourself.” Steve replied, sounding exhausted.  Still, a pleased note was clear in his voice. “We just landed at the airport. What are you doing right now?”

                “Ah,” Tony said, looking around. “Getting ready to order a pizza. You hungry? I can get two.”

                “Starving.” He said heartfelt. “Do you want to come to mine, or do you want me to meet you at the hotel?”

                “Well, actually, I have a little something else in mind. I’ll text you the address.”

                “Okay?” he asked curiously.

                “Trust me, you’ll like it. But hey babe, I have to go, I’m next in line. I’ll see you in a few.”

                They hung up and Tony moved forward to order a large meat pizza and a large Hawaiian. He stopped at the store on the way back to his new house and grabbed both a six pack and a bottle of champagne. He’d just made it inside and set everything down when he heard the rumble of Steve’s beastly truck pull up.

                He walked back outside to see the man hop down, looking around curiously. He smiled when he noticed Tony walking towards him and began walking towards him in turn.

                “What’s all this?” He asked after they kissed hello.

                Tony smiled mischievously and led him inside. They entered the still largely empty house and came to stand in the archway between the kitchen and living room. “Welcome to my new home.” Tony said simply, spreading his hands out and gesturing around them. He watched as a whole slew of emotions crossed the other man’s face. The confusion came first, but only lasted a split second. It was followed by realization, disbelief, excitement, happiness, more confusion and then settle somewhere between euphoria and disappointment.

                “So you accepted the job?” He asked first, voice odd.

                “I did.” He paused before continuing. “I actually accepted it about five days ago, but hadn’t figured out how I wanted to tell you and then well, I haven’t had the chance.”

                “And you, bought..? A house?” He questioned next, taking a step closer.

                “I did.”

                The man wrapped his muscular arms around Tony’s slightly smaller frame, pulling him close. He pressed his lips against his ear and spoke quietly. “I’m very happy you decided to stay.”

                Tony pulled back to look at him, frowning slightly at the lack of excitement in his voice.

                “Are you?” he questioned cautiously. “You don’t sound very happy.”

                “No, I am. I’m thrilled, I just..”

                “Just?”

                “I don’t know, I guess I just pictured you moving in with me.”

                “Steve…”

                “No, don’t. I’m sorry. I’m thrilled you’re moving here. Just forget about it.”

                “Babe.” He stated firmly. “As nice as that sounds, you can’t honestly think it’s a good idea?” 

                Steve pulled away, shoulders hunching defensively, and turned away to walk over to the large windows.

                “That’s not- I didn’t mean that how it sounded.” Tony backtracked.

                “Yeah, you did.” Steve’s voice was bitter. He sighed heavily through his nose and reached up to rub harshly at his forehead. “Look, I’m probably not the best company right now. I’ll just, I’ll call you tomorrow.” He walked over to Tony, kissed him briskly on the forehead and left without another word. Tony was left standing in the middle of the room, the smell of hot pizza wafting towards him and the bottle of champagne gathering condensation on the counter.

~*~*~*~

                As excited as he’d been to spend the first night in the house, he slept terribly. He gave up and was pounding the pavement just before five the next morning. He pushed himself the entire journey, forcing his legs to move faster and faster, to press on regardless of the muscle burn or his aching lungs. When he finally stopped he was gasping for breath, chest on fire and the sensation of suffocating teasing the edge of his conscious.   

                He should probably find a pulmonologist on the island, he realized as he focused on forcing slow, controlled breaths in and out of his chest. He pressed a hand against his diaphragm to better gage his chest wall movement. It was a trick he’d learned to use when he’d got to the point he couldn’t reliably judge his breathing by feel alone. He’d been feeling so good since arriving on the island he’d neglected the precautions he knew he had to take- such as acknowledging his own limits when it came to activity like running.

                It took almost ten minutes to get back to his baseline and he felt exhausted when it was over. He pushed himself up from where he’d gone to his knees and began to trek back home. He picked up a slow jog when he felt more steady, but the journey home to nearly three times as long as the journey away had.

                The truck parked in his driveway shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. Nor should Steve sitting on the stairs of the deck. The man looked up as he came closer. He must have looked as bad as he felt, because the soldier quickly pushed himself to his feet, a frown of concern overtaking his brooding features. “What’s wrong?” He demanded, once Tony was close enough.

                Tony waved him away. “Nothing’s wrong. Just over did it.” He said, walking past him to unlock the door.

                The frown didn’t disappear, and the looming Navy SEAL might as well have been pressed against his back as close as he hovered on the way inside. “I tried to call. You weren’t answering.”

                “Left my phone here. Wasn’t expecting you to be this early.” He stopped to toe off his shoes and moved to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. He stood there, taking slow and steady sips until the bottle was empty. He tossed it into the bag he dedicated to recycling until he got bins and then headed towards his bedroom. He allowed it as Steve followed him into that room as well but put up a hand to block him when the man tried to follow him into the bathroom. “I’m just going to hop in the shower. I’ll be out in a few.” He moved back and shut the door firmly behind himself.

                It was only when he was alone that he allowed himself to slump down to sit on the closed toilet lid. His eyes closed and his head tilted forward, and he stayed that way for a long minute. He forced himself to his feet before Steve could start to wonder why the shower wasn’t running.  

                The cool water helped reenergize him and he felt much better when he stepped out sometime later. Steve had vacated his bedroom and he was able to dress in peace. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to find when he exited the room, and that uncertainty helped reinforce his certainty that it was better to have his own home- at least for the time being.  

                He headed down the small hallway slowly and was hit with the wonderful sent of fresh ground coffee brewing. As he came to the arch, he could see Steve cooking omelets, fresh fruit already cut up on the counter and a new French press sitting proudly on his counter, a green bow pressed crookedly on top and the chamber already filled with coffee. He must have had the supplies with him already, Tony realized.

                He crossed his arms as he leaned casually against the wall, watching Steve quietly. He hadn’t taken in what he was wearing before, but the man was dressed in a tight white t-shirt, with a short sleeve charcoal colored button up worn open over the top of it, fitted dark wash jeans and his normal black boots. He looked delicious.

                Steve carefully set the omelets onto two plates and finally turned around to look at him. He moved over towards the island and set them both down, and then continued around until he was standing in front of Tony. He reached up and ran the tips of his fingers against the shorter mans’ jawline, and then leaned forward to press a light kiss against the same spot. Tony allowed it, but didn’t react beyond following him with his eyes.

                His tongue darted out to wet his lips before he started talking. “I’m an ass.” He said first, to which Tony only raised a brow. “You were right, it would be stupid for us to jump right to living together. I know we need to get to know each other again, that we’ve both changed since we were together before. I’m just so happy that you’re here. I never thought I’d get the chance to see you again, to hold you, and now that you’re really here I’m having a hard time restraining myself from grabbing on and never letting you go.” He tried to joke off the end, but Tony could hear the truth below the façade.

                Tony dropped his arms slowly, pushing himself off the wall and stepping forward. “Trust me, acting like that’s not the way you get to keep me.”

                “I know.” Steve replied quietly. “I’m sorry.”

                “You’re forgiven. And I’m sorry too. I probably shouldn’t have sprung it on you like that, not when you’d been up for nearly three days straight and were coming off a rough case. I just wanted you to be as happy as I was.”

                “I am!” He professed. “Can we just…” He trailed off, grabbing Tony’s elbow and shuffling him out of the house and onto the front deck.

                “Steve, I don’t have shoes on. What are you doing?” He said as his bare feet his the grass that covered his yard.

                The other man ignored him, continuing to back them up until they stood in roughly the same position as they had the night before when Steve had arrived. Once satisfied, he pressed a sweet kiss against his lips and then said, “So what’s all this?” in a rendition of their previous conversation.

                Tony couldn’t help but smile. He shook his head. “You’re lucky you’re cute.” He said instead and then reached out and took the other mans gun calloused hand. “Come on, I’ll show you my new house.” He gave the other man a tour, showing the bedrooms and pointing out where he was going to put the piano once it arrived.

                They finally returned to the kitchen to eat the cooling food, but neither cared as they ate standing side by side over the island. After, Tony finished dressing and the two headed out to do some more shopping for the house. He really needed to get things for the kitchen and bathroom, and to do some real grocery shopping. He also needed to get a washer and dryer now that he’d left the laundry services of the hotel.

When they finally arrived back it was closer to dinner than to lunch, and Tony was grateful for Steve’s large truck bed to haul everything they’d gotten. They popped the untouched pizzas from the night before into the oven to heat up, and then opened the bottle of champagne. They sipped it out of the new glassware he’d just purchased as they worked together to put away the rest of the new dishes and cooking utensils and to decide where and how to organize everything. Tony was pretty particular about how his kitchen was set up, but they had it done before too long. They headed to the living room next to set up the tv and various electronics that went along with it.

                Once done with that, they pulled open the boxes to put together the bar stools and couple of cabinets he’d purchased. Eventually, there was nothing left to put away and they settled into the couch with a DVD playing on the TV. They ended up with Steve sitting on one side with Tony laying across the other cushions and resting his head on Steve’s muscular thigh. It wasn’t the squishiest of pillows, but was comfortable all the same.

                The restless night before, early exertion, day of shopping and then the warm comfortable feelings suffusing him made it so he quickly drifted off to sleep. He woke what must have been hours later to see the TV off and Steve still acting as his pillow. The other man was still awake and looked down at him when he shifted. “Hey.” Tony said, voice rough. “Sorry. What time is it?”

                Steve looked down at his phone that was sitting beside him on the arm of the couch. “Just after midnight.” He responded softly.

                “Why didn’t you wake up me?” He asked, pulling himself into a seated position. He glanced over to see Steve watching him with a soft look on his face.

                “I didn’t mind.” He shrugged.

                “You didn’t mind me trapping you on the couch for hours with nothing to do?” He joked tiredly.

                “No, I didn’t.”

                Tony smiled at him. “We should probably go to bed.”

                “Probably,” Steve agreed. He stood up and stretched and then reached down go give Tony a hand up. Once they were both on their feet, he squeezed the shorter man’s hand softly before letting go and moving towards his shoes. 

                “You could stay you know.” Tony offered after watching him for a second. When Steve looked back at him, he raised a hand to rustle his sleep mussed hair. “It’s already pretty late. If you want to, I mean. You don’t have to.”

                “Oh, I definitely want to. Just, are you sure you don’t mind?”

                “I don’t mind.”

                Steve set his boots back on the floor and moved back over to him. “Let’s go to bed then.” He rumbled. Tony smiled at him in turn and they made their way down to the bedroom. When they settled down to sleep, Tony lay sprawled out half on his stomach, partially on his right side, with his left knee drawn up comfortably in front of him. Steve molded himself against Tony’s back, arm wrapped around him and hand resting over the other man’s heart. They fell asleep quickly and neither woke again until sunlight was shining brightly through the windows.

                Steve woke first and spent a long time luxuriously enjoying the feeling of the other man in his arms. After a long while, he leaned forward to press a soft kiss to the sleep warmed skins of Tony’s neck. The first kiss turned to another and then another as he slowly moved up to nuzzle under his stubbly jaw.

                Tony woke slowly at the sensation. He tilted his head back to give the man better access and let out a huff of contentment. “Go’d morning.” He mumbled softly to the silent room.

                “Good morning.” Steve replied, and Tony could feel the words as lips moved against his flesh.

                Tony hummed softly and rolled onto his back. He reached up to run a hand through the side of Steve’s hair, and used the light grip to pull him down into a chaste kiss. He scratched lightly at Steve’s scalp, remembering that the man used to like that. The purr like response drew another smile from him and he deepened the kiss, morning breath not even given a thought.

                They kissed softly for several long moments and Tony was a little uncomfortable to feel another part of himself stirring awake. That discomfort disappeared when Steve shifted and he felt an answering harness brush against his leg. He shifted again, and repositioned himself to rest between Tony’s legs. He pulled away from Tony’s lips and began trailing his mouth down his jaw line, his neck and then his chest. He went slow enough that Tony could easily have stopped him from going further if he wanted to, but that was the last thing he wanted to do.

                When Steve’s mouth wrapped around his sensitive flesh sometime later, Tony thought he might actually die. He’d forgotten how tenacious the man could be, and how long he could hold his breath for. He finished embarrassingly fast, it having been a long time since anything but his own hand was in that particular hemisphere, but the smugly pleased smirk on Steve’s face erased any feelings of embarrassment pretty quickly.

                Tony leaned down and drew the man into a deeper, filthier, kiss. He tasted himself on the other mans lips and reached down to tease at his waistband, but was surprised when Steve caught his wrist. “That’s, ah, not necessary.” He said, voice like gravel. He released Tony’s wrist and leaned over the edge of the bed to retrieve his discarded shirt. When he wiped his other hand on the material Tony understood what had happened. He dropped his head back with a hapless moan at the thought of the other man jacking himself off while giving him head. It was an extremely arousing thought, but unfortunately his body couldn’t bounce back like it did when he was in his teens and twenties. 

                A phone ringing from the living room broke through the moment, and Steve jumped to his feet with a quiet curse. He disappeared through the open doorway, boxer briefs askew and lips red and swollen. He wandered back in a minute later, phone held to his ear.

                “Uh huh. Yeah. No, that’s fine. Yeah. Okay, see you then.” He hung up and tossed the phone onto the end of the bed. Conversation over, he crawled back onto the bed and moved up until he was holding himself up over the top of Tony. “Mmmm.” He said as they met for another kiss.

                “Do you have to go?” Tony asked after a minute.

                “Nah, that was just Danny. It’s been a while since the Ohana got together for a meal. How would you feel about coming to my place tonight for a cookout and meeting them all officially?”

                “I could do that.” He agreed, stretching beneath the muscular behemoth atop him. “Whose all going to be there? Haven’t I met them all already?”

                “No. You met Danny, Kono and Chin. You kind of met Kamekona and Flippa, but they’ll both be there. So will Max, who works as our ME. Kono’s boyfriend Adam will be there, and Danny’s daughter Grace. And uh, Catherine might be there too.”

                Tony raised is brow at the pause before the last name. “Something you want to tell me about Catherine?” He asked jokingly.

                “Catherine is just an old friend from Naval Intelligence…” He trailed off. “We’ve, uh, had kind of a casual, uh, hook up type thing going for a while when we’re got in the same area.” He finally managed to get out.

                “And she’s coming to a family cookout?” Tony asked with a tiny frown, wondering if he should feel concerned with the information.

                “Uh. She’s a good friend, but Danny said he ran into her this morning and they got to talking. He mentioned the group maybe getting together and she said it would be good to see everyone. I haven’t seen her or talked to her since you’ve been back.”

                “Are you sure you want me to come? I won’t be offended if you make plans without me.”

                “Of course I want you to come!” He exclaimed. “That’s not even in question. It just might be a little weird since I haven’t talked to her yet, but things were totally casual between us- no commitments or emotional attachments. Promise.”

                “If you’re sure.” He said, uncertainly.

                “I’m sure. Tony, these people are important to me. You’re important to me. I want you to get to know them. I think you’ll like them.”

                “We should take a shower.” Tony stated, changing the subject.

                “Together?” Steve asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows that shouldn’t have been as endearing as it was.  

                “I could be persuaded.” He wrapped a leg behind Steve’s knees and twisted him to reverse their position. Steve allowed the move and ended up with Tony straddling his hips.

                “You need persuading?” Steve asked in reply.

                The smile came easy. “I guess not.” He leaned down to kiss him and, once he was distracted, reached behind himself to drag the tips of his fingers lightly down the back of Steve’s knee where it raised slightly off the bed.

                Steve’s whole body jerked and he made a surprised noise somewhere between gasp and a moan of protest. Tony’s laugh was loud and bright as he rolled over the edge and onto his feet. He headed into the bathroom, Steve right on his heels.

~*~*~*~

                Tony cursed as he tried to merge over to take the exit coming up on the right. He and Steve had parted ways earlier in the day, and Tony had told him he’d meet him at his place at five. The rest of the guests were supposed to arrive at five thirty. The clock on his dash was creeping up on six o’clock and he was feeling more and more agitated with every pacing minute. There’d been an accident on the way over, and he’d been stuck in traffic since four thirty.

                He finally pulled into the full driveway just after six. The door opened before he reached it and he saw Danny waiting for him. “Hey, about time. The Neanderthals’ been beside himself.” He said, shutting the door after Tony entered.  

                Tony grimaced. “Trust me, two and a half hours stuck in traffic isn’t my idea of a good time.”

                “Truer words, my friend. Come on, everyone’s out back. I just happened to hear you pull up and thought I’d spare you having to walk out to the vultures all alone.” He joked, leading the way back through the house.

                “Appreciate that.”

                The group might not have noticed them right away if not for the short detective announcing, “Look whose finally here!” as they exited the house.

                The group turned to look at them all at once, and Tony felt a little warm under the collar. He reminded himself that’d he’d been in much more stressful circumstances and forced his face to stay open and friendly as they approached the seated group.

                “Sorry I’m late.” Tony stated, eyes meeting Steve’s as the other man stood from his seat to approach him.

                “Ahh, you’re never late on island time.” Chin said from his own seat, toasting the air with his beer bottle. A chorus of agreement filled the air.

                Steve shot him a private little smile as he came to stand beside him. His hand came up to rest on Tony’s lower back, hidden from view of the group. “So, I know some of you have met already but, well, this is Kono Kalakaua, Adam Noshimuri, Max Bergman, Catherin Rollins, Kamekona and Flippa Tupuola, Chin Ho Kelly and the cutie playing in the sand is Grace Williams. Everyone, this is Tony DiNozzo. He’s accepted a posting with NCIS at Pearl Harbor and, uh, we’ve been, seeing each other again.”

                “It’s nice to meet, and re-meet, all of you.” He said with a wink.

                Kono spoke up next. “So Tony,” She started, an laughing smile across her face. “Now that you’re not part of our murder investigation, I want to hear all the embarrassing stories you have of the bossman!”

                “Kono!” Steve scolded, to the amusement of the rest.

                “Sorry brah, I have to take advantage of the opportunities as they appear!” She turned back to Tony. “I can get you a beer first, if that would help?”

                Tony laughed aloud. “Maybe later.”

                “Later. Pfft.” Steve scoffed. “There’s not gonna be a later, because I don’t have any old embarrassing stories to be told.” He defended.

                A mixture of ‘Oh please!,; ‘Yeah, Right’ and plain laughter filled the air.

                Tony raised a brow at the taller man. “What?” Steve said defensively. “I don’t!”

                “No?” Tony asked, lips curling. “Not even of that one day at the mall?”

                An honest to god flush reddened the tips of the SEALs ears. “Well, we don’t really need to talk about that.”

                “I want to hear!” Kono said loudly, and Tony thought she might have been a little tipsy already.

                “Or the time John caught us making that thing in the garage?”

                Steve choked slightly and then snorted a laugh despite his best efforts. “Ok, that’s enough.” He said, steering him over to where he had been sitting and gesturing him to take his seat. He moved over to throw the meat on the grill and listened contently as Tony started to get to know the team.

                “So if you’re moving here, when do we get to see your sweet ride?” Chin asked during a lull in conversation. 

                “You’re having your car shipped here?” Danny cut in, having been talking to Steve when the conversation had come up before on the trails. “Hate to tell you this man, but you’re probably better off selling it and buying a new one here. Shipping my car out here about gave me a heart attack.”

                “Not this car, braddah.” Chin said. “He’s got a 1969 Boss 429 Mustang. There were only, what, thirteen-hundred made?” He asked, looking over at the Italian.

                “Uh, thirteen-fifty, I think. Or somewhere there abouts. I’m gonna fly back to DC here in a couple of weeks and have my stuff shipped over. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take, that’s something I have to look into, so if you have any recommendations I’d appreciate it.” He finished, looking back at the blonde.

                “Actually,” The man said, reaching to pull out his wallet. He dug around in it for a second before he pulled out a card. “Here, this is the company I used. They were pretty good, car came in on time, didn’t get it back all dinged up.” He joked, reaching over to hand it to him.

                “Oh, hey, thanks! One less thing for me to have to figure out.” He tucked the card into his own wallet.  “Don’t supposed you have a card for a transpacific piano mover in there too?”

                “Ah, nope, fresh out of those. Sorry.”

                A hand came down lightly on the back of his neck as an opened beer bottle appeared beside him. He reached up to grab it with a smile of thanks. Tony noticed Catherine frown at them from the corner of his eye, but did not acknowledge it. Steve sat on the arm of his chair while the meat cooked and rested his arm casually across the back of it as the conversation continued.

                Tony’s phone rang a few minutes later and he apologized as he pulled it out to look at the screen. His brows furrowed when he saw a video call request from Jimmy and he swiped to accept it. Breena and Jimmy’s smiling faces appeared squished together on the small screen. “Tony!” The blonde woman exclaimed when he appeared in return.

                “Hey guys. What’s up? Isn’t it like,” he glanced at his watch. “Almost two am there?”

                “It is, but we wanted to show you!” their faces disappeared as the phone flipped around to show his now neatly packed apartment, boxes stacked uniformly beside the door. “We got everything in the living room and kitchen packed. We did the bathroom too, and your coat closet.” Her disembodied voice came as the image panned around. “All’s you’ll have to do is your bedroom! Oh, and the food that’s left. I hope you don’t mind,” She said as she came back into view. “We ate the lasagna that was in the freezer and drank your bottle of wine that was in the fridge.”

                “No problem,” He laughed. “It looks great, thank you so much for doing all that. Actually, feel to take whatever food you want. I think there’s still some containers of my home made campanelle, tagliatelle and orecchiette noodles in the freezer. I can take whatever perishable food is left to the food bank when I’m back, but they won’t take that kind of stuff.”

                “Have you booked your ticket yet?” Jimmy cut in, phone moving over to show him instead.

                “Uh, no, not yet. It’ll probably be weekend after next though. That’ll give me another two weeks for everything to ship over before I start working.”

                “Do you know how long you’re going to be here for?”

                “I’m hoping I can get everything done in a weekend, but I’m not entirely sure how long everything’s going to take yet. I’d like to try and meet with renters while I’m back, but I haven’t started advertising for that yet.”

                “Actually,” Breena said, moving into the frame with Jimmy. “I might have a solution to that. Do you remember my brother Josh? You met him at our housewarming party.”

                “Yeah, I remember him.”

                “Well he and his wife just split and he’s moving to DC next month.. The markets pretty high right now, so he doesn’t really want to buy- at least until the divorce is finalized, so he’s looking for a place to rent. He’s got great references!” She cajoled.

                “I’m sure he does.” Tony laughed. “But yeah, I wouldn’t have a problem renting to Josh. I’ll let you know when I have my ticket date for sure and maybe we can set it up for him to come and see the place?”

                “Great!” Both pairs of eyes looked up and to the side as Steve reclaimed his seat after flipping the meat. “Who’s this?” She asked slyly.  

                Tony glanced up and met his eyes. “This is Steve,” He said, looking back at the screen.

                “Steve, Steve?” Jimmy asked, brows raised in surprise.

                “Yes, that Steve.” He shot a mollifying look at the screen. “I ran into him a while back and we’ve been seeing each other. I’m actually at his place right now for a cook out.”

                “Hi Steve! I’m Breena and this is my Fiancé, Jimmy! It’s great to meet you!”

                “Can you tell who drank most of that wine?” Jimmy joked quietly and received an elbow in retaliation. Tony and Steve both laughed.

                “It’s nice to meet you, too. Or, sort of meet you.”

                “And I’m Kono!” The woman in question said, popping up over Tony’s other shoulder. “I work with Steve. Wanna meet the rest of the group?” She asked, reaching forward to pluck the phone from Tony’s hand. He let out a vague noise of protest, but didn’t really mind as she started walking around the circle and introducing everyone.

                “They seem nice.” Steve murmured softly to him as they watched the commotion.  

                “They are. They’re good people.” Tony responded.

                Steve smiled and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head before moving back to start taking dinner off the grill. Tony noticed Catherine watching them again, and he hid a small frown. His phone made its way back to him when Steve announced that the food was ready. “Gracie,” He said, gesturing the little girl over. “You get first pick. What would you like?” he offered.

                “Can I have a hamburger and a hot dog please, Uncle Steve?” She asked sweetly.

                “A hamburger and a hot dog!?” He repeated jokingly. “Where are you gonna put all that food? Look at you, you’re tiny!”

                “I’m not tiny!” She said, crossing her arms with a pout.

                Tony looked away and back at the screen. His friends were both watching him with smiles. “We’ll catch up more in person.” Jimmy said. “But I should get this one home before it gets too much later. I’ll talk to you soon.”

                “Bye Tony, bye everyone, nice to meet you!” Breena said loudly enough for her voice to carry. A chorus of voices responded and Tony hung up with a warm feel of contentment in his stomach.

~*~*~*~

                The silence echoed in the wake of the guests. Steve and Tony moved quietly together, putting the last few things away and closing up the house. Tony was reaching up to put the left over hamburger buns in the cupboard when muscular arms wrapped around his waist. Though he jumped a bit at first, he closed the door and turned in the arms with a smile.

                “I like your family.” He said simply.

                “They liked you too.”

                “Yeah?”

                “Mmm. Well, except Kamekona. He was saying something about a shrimp roll on a Hawaiian bread not being right. I’m not sure exactly what he was talking about but he looked pretty worked up.”

                Tony tipped his head back and laughed. “Sorry.” He said when he was finished.

                “Don’t be.” Steve said huskily. “So, do you want to drive all the way back to your house, knowing you very well could end up stuck in traffic again and be on the road all night, or would you like to sleep here and save yourself the potential hassle?”

                “Humm. That’s quite the argument.” Tony quipped.

                “I thought so.” 

                “It’d be rude to decline such a noble, self-sacrificing offer. How will I ever repay your generosity?”

                “I’m sure we can figure out a way.” The grin that crossed Steve’s face was that of an angelic looking schoolboy who’d just propped a bucket of water over his sisters bedroom door. He was doing a good job hiding his doing, but couldn’t completely conceal the mischievous gleam or the proud sparkle in his eye. 

                “Well in that case, I suppose I’ll stay.”

                Steve’s bright grin turned more honest and he ducked down to steal a kiss. One kiss turned to two. Steve’s hands dropped lower, sliding softly down his back and glossing over his buttocks. When they reached the backs of his thighs, the grip tightened and Steve lifted him suddenly to sit on the counter. The raise in height made it to where he was taller than Steve for a change and he enjoyed the maneuvering advantage it gave him in the kiss.

                His knees tightened around the toned hips and drew him closer still. His arms came up to loop around Steve’s neck and one hand fisted in the short hair beneath it. They stayed that way, making out like horny teenagers, for a long while. Eventually though, sitting on the counter began to get uncomfortable for both of them.

                Without warning, Steve lifted him again and began walking towards his bedroom. Tony wrapped his legs around him more securely and tilted his head back with another, quieter, laugh. “Show off.” He accused lightly at the fact that the other man was able to heft and carry his 6’, 180 pound solid frame like it was nothing.

                “Not a show off.” He argued, biting at his neck. “I just don’t wanna let go of you.”

                “Well,” Tony said, more turned on by the show of strength than he would admit to as they started climbing the stairs “I suppose I can’t argue with that.” He smiled, settling more deeply into the other man’s hold. He was pretty damn content to not be let go of either.

~*~ _END_ ~*~

**Author's Note:**

> I was absolutely blown away by the response to the last work. Thank you so much for all your kind words. I hope this one meets your expectations. I will definitely be continuing this series, and the next installment will address Tony’s return to DC and the fallout from his departure. Thank you for reading, and if there is anything specifically you would like to see, let me know!


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